Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The hunt goes on for that perfect base!Yes, dear readers I am obsessed by that bit of plastic that no one notices. I just cant get that right mix that I want. Sooooo.... I knocked this up. Its a mould master for a one inch round base without a bevel (like a DnD figure) with a round socket underneath where a 20mm washer fits. Lower than a citadel round, but higher than a renedra base.The mould is to be poured underside down- rather than the usual top down you get with pre detailed resin.

The pic above shows a citadel base for depth comparison with the washer fitted. A citadel barbarian is the model.

This *should* satisfy my unnatural desires in the base area.

The non beveled sides gives a good place to pick the figure up by, and maximizes the upper surface for adding base details. The hidden washer gives a pleasant weight and stability as well as sticking to my magnetic trays and painting handles.I will run off a few resin casts after I get the new Skulldred beta out hopefully next week.

If they do, I will make myself a couple of moulds that can do ten at a time, spend a night casting my ass off and just crank them buggers out till I have me a stockpile. Then I can be done exploring the nether regions of alternate basing with all the rebasing pain that it brings.

I loved washers for gaming, ease of use and cheapness... but found myself scared to sculpt on decorations which I really enjoy doing. They seem less protected on a washer. Take a look at this marauder militia man ( Hogym the curious and his war pig Snortwurzel.)

I also like to handle my minis by the base, which was trickier with washers. Your urge is to grab them like chess pieces- fine enough when you have well varnished gaming minis, but I wanted the arty stuff to be consistently based too. Hence my (self imposed) dilemma. I also found chipped edges on the washers frustrating. Several enamel coats fixes it, but that means you have to actually do several enamel coats. Plastic bases are good to go. I wanted the best of both washers and plastic, I guess.